Assemblyman Cho Gyewon Says "Handball in Crisis Needs Support Through Sports Toto"

Forum on "Inclusion of Handball in Sports Toto" Held at the National Assembly

"Handball is a traditional ball sport that has long raised the profile of the Republic of Korea on the international stage. However, like some other less popular sports, it now faces a reality in which it is difficult to remain competitive without institutional support. Sports with growth potential, such as handball, need to be incorporated into Sports Toto so that an autonomous virtuous ecosystem can be created in which players and coaches can carry out their activities with peace of mind."

Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Gyewon, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, made these remarks at the "Forum on the Inclusion of Handball in Sports Toto and Sport Innovation Strategy" held on the 24th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. At the forum hosted by Assemblyman Cho, participants from various sectors discussed ways for handball, a traditionally strong Olympic event for Korea, to overcome its status as a less popular sport and leap forward as a "sports industrialization model" with self-sustaining power.

The forum was moderated by Lee Wonjae, a professor in the Department of Sports Industry and Leisure at Kookmin University, and proceeded with keynote presentations followed by a panel discussion.

In the first keynote presentation, the activities of SK Group over the past 20 years were introduced, including more than 150 billion won in sponsorship to build dedicated handball arenas and expand infrastructure and the sport's base.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Jo Gyewon, Im Okyung and Yang Munseok (from left in the front row), members of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, are advocating for the inclusion of handball in Sports Toto at the "Forum on Inclusion of Handball in Sports Toto and Sport Discipline Innovation Strategy" held on the 24th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Korea Handball Federation

The subsequent keynote presentation, "Handball Vision 2030," addressed the growth potential of handball centered on the H League. The Korea Handball Federation explained that in the 2024-2025 season, just two years after the launch of the H League, paid attendance and ticket revenue surged by 175% compared with the 2022-2023 season, and the league achieved 20.1 billion won in sponsorship value in the 2024-2025 season, demonstrating both the feasibility of handball's sports industrialization and its market value. The federation also noted that all H League games are broadcast live via Max Sports, a dedicated handball TV channel, as well as Naver and Daum, and that real-time data generated from the games is being sold on global sports platforms. It stressed that this proves handball meets the essential requirements for a Sports Toto event, namely fairness and the ability to provide objective data.

Kim Daehee, a professor in the Department of Smart Healthcare at Pukyong National University, said in his presentation on "A Korean-Style Sustainable Sports Model and the Role of Government" that "because the number of events that can be held for existing Sports Toto sports is limited, overseas sales have been continuously increasing as an adverse side effect," and emphasized that "amateur sports such as handball, which have worked to operate their leagues in a stable manner and to expand their base, must also be newly designated as Sports Toto sports."

Assemblyman Cho stressed that "Sports Toto is not simply a profit-making business, but a system designed to serve the public purpose of promoting national sports," and added, "Through institutional support such as the inclusion of new sports in Sports Toto, we must open a path for handball to continue its own survival and growth." He went on to say, "The National Assembly will also fully assume its responsibility so that handball can once again stand at the center of a moving national moment."

The forum was co-hosted by seven Democratic Party lawmakers: Assemblyman Cho, Kim Kyohong, Chair of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Im Okyung, the committee's secretary, and lawmakers Min Hyungbae, Park Soohyun, Yang Munseok, and Kim Moonsu of the National Assembly's Education Committee.